


The Sun Temple

by C_VSM



Series: ArkAU [1]
Category: ARK: Survival Evolved, Original Work
Genre: Gen, first person POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 21:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21735493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C_VSM/pseuds/C_VSM
Summary: Set on Ragnarok, our Wind tribe protagonists Keith and Seth have taken on a challenge much too great for them.
Series: ArkAU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1566562
Kudos: 4





	The Sun Temple

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in my own AU. While vaguely following the canonical story of the game, I do not intend to interpret it into this universe. These are my original characters, with their own stories and goals.

Left, right, left, right, faster, faster, faster.

My whole body was sore, my throat completely dry from the desert air, the sand was sipping through my toes, making it almost impossible to run, and on top of everything, I could barely see anything because of the darkness of the night.  
I risked a look over my shoulder, and regretted it immediately. There were scorpions, snakes, and arthros bigger than me, vultures, sabertooths and wolves on our tail; it seemed as though the whole desert was after us that night.  
I looked to my right; Seth looked just as exhausted and terrified as I was.  
We had no choice, we had to keep running.

Why did we come here in the first place?  
Okay, we wanted that artifact, so we could prove ourselves to our tribe, but was it really worth it? Absolutely not. We got jumped by titanoboas and arthros before we could even enter the cave, and they successfully broke all our armour and weapons and killed our mounts, so all we had left to do was to run.  
We wanted to be the youngest warriors of the Wind tribe, traveled across the world to retrieve an artifact no skilled warrior has ever been able to- it was madness, and we realized that way too late.  
Now we might never see our tribe again.

"Look! Over there, what's that?" my train of thought was interrupted by Seth's yelling, and I focused on the sight ahead of us. He was right, there was a visible fire ahead - it looked almost like a bonfire.  
But regardless of the size of it, fire meant people. People that could help us.  
I exchanged a look with Seth, and we gave our last strengths to speed up and reach the people, yelling for help.  
The closer we got, the more we could see - there were lots of buildings, neatly built in a sort of complex, and emphasized with fire all around it.  
We had almost reached the gate, screaming and crying for somebody to help us, when we saw energy blasts overhead, deafening us, and hitting the creatures behind us.  
We collapsed in the sand in front of the closed gate, fully expecting for something - or someone - to attack us, but everything fell silent.

I could hear my heart racing in my chest, and soon Seth started coughing beside me.  
"Are you okay?" I turned to him, voice raspy from dehydration. He nodded, grabbing my shirt, and pointing behind me with a look of urgency on his face.  
I turned around, and was met with the most horrific sight I have ever witnessed.

All of the creatures that were previously chasing us were now stacked in a pile, broken and bleeding. Dead.  
I wasn't even able to process the events, when I heard somebody land softly on the sand very close to us. I turned my head towards the sound, and saw a hooded figure handling a TEK rifle approaching us.  
"Don't hurt us! We come in peace!" I yelled out, as much as I could, having my voice almost completely gone.  
"I would have guessed so by all the yelling for help," the figure answered; it was a male voice. His stride was calm and relaxed, he didn't seem to want us any harm.  
So, this was the person that saved us? I tried to speak, but my voice betrayed me this time.  
He noticed my struggle and crouched down, pulling out a water jar.  
He opened it and pressed it to my lips. "Drink."  
I gladly obeyed, and I saw him offer a similar jar of water to Seth too.  
I drank the whole thing in seconds and handed it back to him. "Thank you."  
He took both of the jars back. "You're welcome. You're lucky to be alive. How long have you been running?"  
"A couple hours. We ran from the artifact cave," Seth answered.  
I couldn't see the figure's face, but I could hear the disbelief in his voice. "That's in the middle of the desert. How in the name of the gods are you still alive?"  
"Where even are we?" I cut in, realising we have no clue what to even expect.  
The figured turned to me. "The Sun temple. You ran diagonally across the whole desert."  
What??  
The Sun temple?? That's miles away from the cave! How were we able to..?  
The figure sighed, shaking his head. "We can deal with the questions later. Come now, you must be starving."  
He motioned us to follow him, then started making his way towards a side door to the temple. I stood up and grabbed Seth's hand, helping him up, and not letting go. He must've noticed the fear on my face because he interlocked our fingers, and smiled at me. "We'll be okay; we need help, and he's willing to give it to us. No matter the reputation of the Sun tribe, I promise we'll be okay."  
I nodded and squeezed his hand. We followed our saviour through the door to the front side of the temple, and up some stairs to what I could only guess was his living area.

It was finally bright enough to see, so I took a moment to observe our surroundings. We were on the front left side of the temple, at the very top, overlooking the river below. The whole temple was open, this was still the desert, after all. The terrace we were on included a bed, a grill, a cooker, a table with chairs, and some storage containers; everything neatly cleaned and stacked away.  
The figure stepped to a hanger and undressed his coat, finally revealing his face to us.  
"Make yourselves at home, there's still food on the grill," he motioned to it, and sat down at the table, resuming writing in a notebook that was already opened. This is what he must've been doing before we showed up.  
I did as told and sat down opposite of him, Seth joining me to my left.

I looked at our host; he didn't seem even remotely like anyone from the Sun tribe. He was relatively young, although much older than both me and Seth. His skin was pale, although now tan; I can only persume it was once snow white - the exact opposite of the normal dark complexion of the tribe. His hair was blond, and his eyes were icy blue. There was no way he was from this tribe.  
"Is something about my face bothering you?" he asked calmly, not lifting his gaze from the notebook he was writing in.  
"You're not from here, are you?"  
His eyes met mine, and I felt a cold shiver down my spine. "Correct."  
"Where are you from then? And why are you here?"  
He put down his pen and closed his notebook, leaning on the table and facing me fully. "Let's start with the basics. My name is Seren, and you are?"  
"I'm Keith. This is Seth," I motioned to him. "We're from the Wind tribe."  
"Wind tribe, huh? You've traveled far for a failed mission."  
Ouch.  
I looked down, embarrassed. "We just wanted to prove ourselves."  
"By attempting a mission that has resulted in death every prior attempt? How foolish of you."

He couldn't more obviously be a foreigner, the Sun tribe are aggressive but warm and simple people. None are as cold and rudely straightforward as him.

I sighed, aware of the fact that we're at our host's mercy, and kept my mouth shut. Talking back would do no good.  
He studied my face, expression unreadable.  
I met his gaze, and saw his eyes were as emotionless as his tone.  
"I'm from the Moon tribe," he finally spoke, his tone much gentler now. "Which I presume you've probably guessed by now."  
That would explain the cold behaviour and the unusual appearance. The only problem was that the Moon temple was on the literal other side of the world.  
"Then why are you here?" Seth asked him.  
"Because unfortunately my ancestry isn't as 'clean' as yours." He paused for a moment, making sure we were both intrigued, then continued. "My father, the main priest of the Sun temple, had been killed in an outcast raid on one of their outposts in the Eastern ocean. As his only heir, I have been called down here to name a successor. Until then, I run the temple."  
I thought for a moment. "But if your father lived here, why were you so far away? How is it even possible for you to be born under the Moon goddess?"  
"My mother is one of the healers in the Nature army." He shrugged; "Genetics failed us here."

Before we could respond, he stood up from his chair. "Since you've eaten, I suggest you follow me to the refugee camp, where you'll be staying the night."  
I shifted uncomfortably. Spending the night in the temple with him in charge doesn't sound very reassuring.  
He must've noticed my distress as he spoke up again; "My intention is not to hurt you. The Sun god has led you here and decided to spare your lives. I will not defy him."  
His voice possessed that seriousness and fanaticism you could only ever hear from priests- he was telling the truth.  
"Okay. Lead the way."

He took a torch from the wall and escorted us through a gate leading inwards. All the torches there were put out, the people were sleeping, after all.  
He turned right into a chamber full of beds, and directed us to a couple empty ones.  
We settled in; the cloth was, surprisingly, breathable enough so we weren't hot.  
"Thank you for saving our lives," I heard Seth whisper to Seren.  
In the dim light of his torch I saw a smile break his facade. "You're welcome. Sleep tight."  
Having said that, he put out his torch, and the world was enveloped in darkness.


End file.
